Four Newcastle United players that must start v Man City
John Barnes has irked Newcastle United supporters with several comments in recent weeks.
John Barnes has told Newcastle United supporters they should expect to lose more top players in the future.
In strong comments about the situation at St James’ Park, the former England international - who played for the club in the late 1990s - also claimed the Magpies will not win the Premier League or Champions League. Barnes caused a stir a fortnight ago when he told Newcastle fans to stop “hating” on Alexander Isak.
Toon supporters have enjoyed watching the Swede struggle to adjust to life at Anfield following his £130million summer move. Speaking to the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Barnes insisted Newcastle cannot kick on to where the ambitious owners want to be.
‘They’re not going to’ - John Barnes
“It was always going to be difficult for Eddie Howe,” Barnes said. “In many respects, I think they were looking for a stopgap for a big-name manager, but he did it so well and won them their first trophy, so they have to stick with him.
“Newcastle fans had a go at me after the cup final because they asked if this was going to be a stepping stone for Newcastle to push on, and I said, Push on to where? They finished 4th or 5th, they’re not going to push on to win the league and win the Champions League.
“They thought that was a bit disrespectful, and then they said, is this now a way for them to keep their players, and I said that if Newcastle lost the cup final, and Isak and other players wanted to stay, they would stay. The fact that they’ve won the cup doesn’t mean they’re going to stay. Then Isak left.
“So, unfortunately, no matter what you create with all these big players and all this money, you’re not going to be able to sustain that. Newcastle can’t spend more than everybody else, so top players will still want to go to Man United or Liverpool, not Newcastle, because they can’t spend twice as much.”
‘Let them go’ - John Barnes
Barnes doubled down on telling Newcastle fans that they must accept high-profile stars leaving. He added: “What they have to do is get some good players, and if they want to go then let them go, rather than this negativity of the whole Isak situation.
“It doesn’t really help Eddie Howe at all. The fact that they buy these players doesn’t mean they’re going to keep them, because they’re going to want to go to other clubs.”
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‘Doesn’t benefit anyone’ - Alexander Isak
On international duty last month, Swedish media pressed Isak on the Newcastle drama. He is preferring to move on - insisting that dragging up the saga does not benefit either party.
“It’s nothing I want to dwell on now,” Isak said, as quoted by ESPN. “It doesn't benefit anyone, neither me nor Newcastle so let it be. I'm working hard to push myself and play my game. Things have been a bit tougher for us (Liverpool). I believe that as the team improves and things start to flow better, it will also go better for me.”
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